Anne Joseph is back on the intertubes - with a blog from last weeks Penguin presentation…
“Emphasis was placed on ‘reinventing the classics’ which means that two previously published classic titles have been rewritten for the modern audience – The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit (pub Sept 2012) by actor and screenwriter Emma Thompson and Leopard Adventure (July 2012) by young adult author Anthony McGowan.
Both books are pegged to rather tenuous anniversaries – 2012 marks the 110th anniversary of Peter Rabbit (I was unaware that 110 was such a milestone) and McGowan’s book, a re-imagined Willard Price adventure tale, is tied to the 125th anniversary of Price’s birthday in July… It didn’t stop there. Jacqueline Wilson came to tell us that her first Puffin title, Four Children and It (August, 2012) will be echoing E Nesbit’s novel, Five Children and It. No anniversary.
It was a slick – if shorter than usual – well organised, informative
event, however, I couldn’t help but leave feeling a little uninspired.”